1. APR Applicant Voice Exploring ideas for a revised admissions system Review of qualitative analysis APR Evidence

2. ▪In-depth interviews ▪5 interviews with schools, 2 with careers advisers, 1 with an FE college ▪Mix of : ▫England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland ▫Affluent/deprived/mixed areas ▫Urban/rural areas ▫Maintained/independent schools ▪Including ▫Faith schools ▫One single-sex school, one academy ▪7 focus groups with first year undergraduates ▪Mix of countries ▪Mix of mission groups ▪One college of further education, one conservatoire ▪Recruitment of each group reflected the HEI’s student population ▪1 focus group with parents ▪Mix of parents, mix of schools Module 14 - Applicant voice qualitative methodology

3. Key to verbatim quotations Schools Undergraduate students Careers advisers Parents ▪Throughout this presentation, quotations from different audiences are highlighted in different coloured speech bubbles

4. ▪Schools, undergraduates and parents want more from HEIs, not less (more transparency, communication and feedback) ▪There is reluctance to relinquish applicant choices or the insurance offer – especially now that students will invest so heavily in their education ▪Most schools and undergraduates are fairly satisfied overall with the current admissions system – but feel it could be fairer and less stressful for applicants ▪Some applicants change their mind late on – and may benefit from making choices later ▪There is some interest in PQA/PQO – but there are drawbacks ▪Many would like to see the existing admissions process enhanced, for example: ▪Allow up to two personal statements for those who want it ▪Gathered field would be fairer than ‘first come, first served’ ▪Applications via UCAS to part-time courses, distance learning, compressed degrees and EU HEIs The Applicant Voice is asking for more fairness, flexibility and applicant-focus We're customers rather than students. You're buying your education, so you should be able to tailor it to buy what you want. I think the system needs to err on the side of more choice, more options, [more that you can] tailor yourself (Student, RSAMD) You can't take the stress out of it, but you can make a wee bit more flexible perhaps (Independent school, NI)

5. I honestly don't think it's too bad as it stands. I find it a pretty workable system (School, England) Current system works fairly well from the applicant perspective I can't really see another sensible way of doing it (Careers adviser, Scotland) Overall it’s not that bad a system. Considering it gets nearly everyone to uni who wants to go, you can’t really fault it (Student, University of Worcester) I don’t think that overall that many people here had major problems going through UCAS. Most people go through it fine (Student, University of Plymouth) ▪Perceived to be straightforward process ▪Well understood by schools ▪UCAS system is efficient and highly regarded ▪Gets most applicants onto a course they want By and large it's very efficient. It serves our purposes. In most areas I'm quite happy (School, Wales) I think [conditional offers are] the best way of doing it. I think the predicted grade thing is done quite well (Student, Bradford College)

6. ▪Applicants’ expectations of wait-times are not managed A couple of months between hearing from universities is a long time when you're on tenterhooks, if they could streamline that it would certainly have relieved my pressure (Student, University of Manchester) There are weaknesses - unacceptably long waits for offers... [Waiting for late offers] I think it's absolutely tortuous for these kids (Parent) The biggest problem is uncertainty about when [students are] going to hear back from institutions (Independent school, England)

7. My predicted grades were lower than what I got, and I missed out on one of my courses because of that (Student, Queens Belfast) There are schools, I heard, that if you think you can get an A then you just put an A in [as your predicted grade] (Student, RSAMD) I wouldn't be convinced that every other institution is predicting accurately. Does that put our students at a disadvantage? (School, Wales) You don't know what grades you're going to get, you might get less than you expected (Student, University of Manchester) ▪Some students do not achieve the grades predicted ▪Over-predicting by schools to secure a university place is unfair...and predicted grades

8. ▪They have paid for five choices, so might as well use them ▪But some have difficulty choosing a fourth and fifth choice ▪Preferences may change over time ▪Five allows time to reject after more consideration/visits/interview Some of the universities I wanted to go to were further away and I didn’t really have the time or the money to travel up to them at the time I was applying. So I was like, I’ll put them down, [then] I’ll have a look and then I’ll make a decision (Student, University of Worcester) I think five is about right. Sometimes [students] have trouble filling their fifth [choice]. If it was four, that's starting to restrict choices (School, Wales) When I paid for it I got five choices. I was like, ‘I might as well make the most of my money’ (Student, University of Worcester) Five choices are not always needed – but most don’t want fewer I wouldn't go any lower than four, because you've got to hedge your bets (Student, University of Manchester) Most people have like an idea of three, or maybe two [they really want] but sometimes [the other choices] become the ones that you actually go to (Student, University of Plymouth) [In any new system] I think they should still have maximum choice of university. Five is good, three is too few (Parent)

9. ▪Those applying for competitive courses, in particular, feel they need more choices Some want more choices because they feel they will have more chance of getting a place I would have really liked more [choices]. I don't know like maybe they could cap at ten or something (Student, RSAMD) [Perhaps we should] allow students to make at least six applications - two very aspirational universities, two on what you're safely predicted and two as a reserve if you under-performed (School, England) [For Medicine] at Manchester, only 40% get an offer, so [medics] need more choices (Student, University of Manchester) I think maybe six choices [would be better], just because [you apply a long time before] you make your final decision. And things change and you get rejections, you maybe visit the place, so I think six is better than five (Student, Queens Belfast) I think you should be allowed to pick more [than five] med schools. If you've more choices, you've more chances to get in somewhere (Student, Queens Belfast) If there was more choices it would definitely improve the chances of getting in (Student, University of Exeter)

10. ▪No benefit to the applicant with ranking ▪Ranking might be difficult to do and rankings would change over time ▪They fear that visible ranking would disadvantage lower ranked choices All agree choices should remain unranked No! No! Please, please don't go back to ranking in any shape or form. The anxiety that would cause! (Independent school, England) You know which one you prefer anyway so you don’t really need to have it ranked (Student, University of Worcester) I just don't see any purpose in ranking (School, England) My opinions sort of changed over the year, like I started off with one being my absolute first choice. [I] went to see a different one and was like, ‘That one’s now my first choice’ (Student, University of Worcester) I would be worried if universities could see your ranking, so they think [if] I'm your last choice, 'I'm not going to give you a place‘ (Student, University of Manchester) If you were [choosing] Music, Medicine and Chemistry [courses] then how on earth are you going to rank them? (Student, RSADM)

11. ▪Students want to decide for themselves exactly where they go – especially with higher fees ▪Too much regional variation in reputation of HEIs ▪‘Lucky dip’ could result in poor retention rates ▪No interest for those who only want local HEI(s) ▪May be of some interest to Medicine applicants [Students usually] have a fixed idea of where they want to go, sometimes rather than what the course is. For things like Medicine it's perhaps a better idea, but not for all courses (Careers adviser, England) ‘Pool’ applications have very limited appeal For Northern Ireland students there's accessibility issues. Where the course is taught is an important issue. So I wouldn't be in favour of any pool arrangement. (Independent school, NI) I'm a single parent and I needed to choose a specific place and course, anything else wouldn't be feasible (Student, Bradford College) I think you should research it. Because otherwise you’ll have a higher rate of dropouts, because people won’t like it [when they get there] (Student, University of Worcester) I think [applicants] need to focus on why it is they want to go to that particular university. [Pool] just adds an extra layer of fluffiness (School, England)

12. ▪Would appeal to some Medicine applicants – to avoid wasting the fifth choice ▪Also useful for those choosing different types of courses ▪Some applicants already send another statement via email ▪Larger schools are less keen – it would mean more work for them ▪Schools voice less objection to an additional personal statement for use in Extra ▪But one reference is enough Allow up to two personal statements if required If you were applying to more than one course it would be really good [to have] personalised statements. If you were doing CVs for different jobs you'd tweak them, wouldn't you? (Student, Bradford College) [Two or three personal statements per student] would be an absolute administrative nightmare! One personal statement is fine as long as students have the opportunity to write to institutions if they've chosen something [different] (School, Wales) I can see the argument for allowing two personal statements, particularly for the [Medics]. Students do often put in a different personal statement via email anyway (School, England) My personal statement was geared towards Medicine, but my fifth choice was Pharmacy, so I got rejected by Pharmacy; they knew that it was only a backup. A lot of people do waste that fifth choice (Student, University of Manchester)

13. ▪It can be challenging to meet the October deadline – but necessary for interviews and tests ▪Some schools would be happy for other HEIs to use the October deadline ▪One deadline and gathered field would be fairer ▪It would be confusing if HEIs had their own application deadlines Few objections to the October and January deadlines The reason even Oxbridge has their applications early is because they have whole interview process, so it makes sense to have early application date (Student, RSAMD) [If HEIs set their own application deadlines it] would be a nightmare. It's got to be the same date for everyone otherwise people are going to get confused (Student, Bradford College) [Gathered Field] might be nicer for students and cause them a bit less anxiety, but I don't think it's a major problem for students [at the moment] (School, England) Personally I found it okay, I had friends who went in for Oxbridge who I think they found it slightly rushed. They obviously hadn’t had the three months that the rest of us had to finish off their personal statements (Student, University of Plymouth) [ [Multiple deadlines would give] those who are procrastinating the perfect excuse. So we can't really see how it could benefit students at [age]18 (School, England)

14. ▪Some interest in PQA – especially amongst parents ▪Applicants can make their decisions later – and be more certain about what they want to do ▪Less reliance on subjective personal statements ▪Some feel that the academic term should start in January to accommodate PQA/PQO PQA removes uncertainty of predicted grades It would take the stress out of the system. Students could focus on getting their exam results. Universities wouldn't have to rely on subjective criteria such as personal statements. (Independent school, NI) Positives would be you're dealing with real data. If you've done all the research behind it all, it could be a relatively quick process (School, England) If you applied with your grades it would be much easier (Student, University of Manchester) [With PQA] kids are on a level playing field and that would give them longer to grow up [before they choose a course] (Parent)

15. ▪Difficult to squeeze in the process between results and start of term ▪Earlier exam results and/or later academic term start dates would be necessary ▪May require a restructure of the school year too ▪Students want to know their destination earlier – e.g. so they can arrange accommodation ▪HEIs’ reasons for rejecting students who achieved the required grade may be challenged...But there are drawbacks of PQA

16. ▪Would be simple and familiar ▪But no benefit if only applying to one HEI ▪And HEI’s may not like losing control of postgraduate admissions Some interest in a universal centralised admissions for postgraduate courses It would make sense to have it all under the one umbrella (Careers adviser, England) [Postgraduate is] a good idea. [UCAS is] a system people are familiar with - anything that makes things easier is better (Careers adviser, Scotland) [It would be] like an interface between you and the universities instead of like having to go straight to each university and then meet their deadlines and stuff (Student, Queens Belfast) I think it would be really good if you had [postgraduate applications] through UCAS. Because you’ve used it before, you know how to use it again. It’s just a lot simpler to have one website (Student, University of Worcester) People are more likely to know exactly where they want to go for a postgrad, so maybe it doesn’t [make as much sense as UCAS for undergraduate]? (Student, University of Plymouth) [Postgraduate admissions] they seem to run perfectly well without UCAS. And what would UCAS bring to this other than some extra restrictions and limitations? (Student, Queens Belfast)

17. There is interest in applying via UCAS for part-time degrees and compressed degrees We've got a system that works - and if we can incorporate other types of study then that's fine by me (Independent school, NI) [Compressed and modular degrees] I think they should definitely be included in UCAS, because with the changes in student finance it would help increase students’ awareness that there are different ways of studying and that is the way a lot of HEIs are going to go anyway (School, England) With the fees [going up] I think people are going to need to work part-time. [And people] in their forties, they just might decide on a career change and maybe part-time’s the way for them (Student, University of Worcester) I think that’s a good idea because then you’ve got more options. You can look at what’s available for [distance learning], rather than having to search and go through all the different sites and all the different applications (Student, University of Worcester)

18. ▪Interest in EU HEIs expected to grow as a result of fees increase ▪But financial implications must be spelt out very clearly to the applicant ▪Many feel EU applications should be in addition to the standard five choices...and interest in applying via UCAS to EU HEIs It would be a nice option and if it was on UCAS you'd be more aware of it (Student, Bradford College) If like UCAS could support you with [a foreign application] then maybe it would be really good. It’s just more possibilities, more options for you (Student, University of Worcester) That sounds logical. European universities, especially with the fees now are becoming more attractive (School, Wales) Those [European choices] should be extra to [the five choices], because they're a bit risky (Parent) [A European application] should be an additional application rather than counting within the existing 5, so you'd be taking something away (School, England)

19. ▪Would give students more options and give these providers more credibility ▪But admissions based on ability to pay? Many are uncomfortable with this ▪Again, the financial implications must be made very clear at the outset Polarised views on application to private providers [That would be OK], as long as their degrees are recognised by the UK government and as long as [the website] indicates that the fee cap does not apply (School, England) [If you’re going to a private university] then you're not going to be clogging up the commoners' places! (Student, University of Manchester) But its selection [process is] going to be totally different isn’t it? There’s been a discussion about, you know, if you’ve got the money it doesn’t matter what your qualifications are, so I don’t know (Student, University of Plymouth) You’d possibly need the clarity to say that, ‘If you pick this university you wouldn’t be able to have this, this and this’. Because like when you go on UCAS you naturally assume that [for] every university you can then apply for your loan (Student, University of Plymouth) I just believe the education system in this country [should continue to allow] students regardless of their financial background to access education (School, England)